Managing People Well

More often than we like, companies engage in what's been called "the folly of rewarding A, while hoping for B." Organizations do this when they hope that employees will engage in one behavior, but they reward for another type.

What is Empowerment and Why is it a Good Thing?

Empowerment means giving employees lower down in the organization more responsibilities and decision-making power. Empowered employees feel they have the ability to make decisions and put them into action.

Why is employee empowerment beneficial? Numerous studies over the years have shown that empowered employees and teams are more likely to be motivated, satisfied, productive and less likely to think about quitting.

Group meetings have a reputation for being notoriously inefficient. We've all been in meetings that last hours but don't seem to accomplish much. Inefficient group meetings don't have to be a fact of business life, there are steps that can be taken to make meetings more effective.

Teams are an essential part of the way business is being done in many companies. This is because management tries to increase organizational performance through the positive synergy coming from teams. When the tasks being done require multiple skills, judgment, and experience, teams usually outperform individuals.

In this article, we talk a bit about what work teams are as opposed to work groups, when to use them, and what characterizes effective teams. If you think your teams can do better, or if they just aren't working well, this article is for you.

Working in groups is almost always an inevitable life experience, even for those who prefer to work alone. Therefore, it's helpful to think about how to improve group interaction and performance.

Creating conditions that lead to more productive groups means we need to look at the nature of group dynamics. In this article, we discuss why people join groups, how groups evolve, what makes a group work well, and how to build a better working group.

An individual's motivation and productivity are tightly linked. Having motivated employees is important for the long-term success of almost all organizations.

Here we discuss a few important theories of motivation and what you can do to motivate others as well as yourself. If you're not motivated to read through the theory section, scroll down to jump into how the theories can be applied.